Christmas Wishes
by LadyBastet92
Summary: It's the last day before winter break, when a miracle occurs: it starts to snow! Through the icy wind and bitter cold, however, the Pharaoh discovers a new kind of warmth, and finds out what he's wanted for Christmas all along...


I'm not sure of the religious status of most people of Japan, so forgive me if I messed it up using my Americanized views. I was just trying to create a cute Christmas story bows head Also, forgive me for the length of the story and if it drags on too long bows head again And one finally note: THE CRAPPYNESS!! IT BURRRNS!!! bows head on table several times

Enjoy

"I can't believe the year is almost over!"

It was the second to last period of the school day, and all around the vacant classroom schoolchildren were spread out and separated into small groups, conversing with their friends. It was the last day of school until winter break, and all people could talk about was what they wanted for Christmas, or where they were going for winter break, semester exams seeming far off in the distance and vacant from their minds. It was a free period, and the teacher had given up on trying to contain the children's excitement and get them to actually study, and had drifted off into Christmas catalog land.

"I might actually get to sleep in the next couple of days!" Joey Wheeler sat stretched out lazily in his chair, and yawned. "Good thing the newspaper route doesn't have students working during break, or I would be riding my bike in the freezing wind for Christmas!"

"I wish I could have the luxury of having work off," said Tea Gardner, her chair pulled up to Joeys' desk. She ran her fingers through her brown hair and complained "My jerk of a boss only gives us Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off! It's so unfair."

"But doesn't he think you're 18?" said Yugi Moto, sitting beside her. "So, basically he's treating you like a full-time employee, right?"

"And you're getting paid like a full-time employee too," reminded Tristan Taylor, sitting on top of the desk. "And you haven't gotten enough money for dance school in the Big Apple."

Tea sighed dramatically. "Yeah, I know. But sometimes I feel like quitting being a waitress just to get out of that skimpy outfit and away from my boss! I have to keep thinking 'New York, New York' whenever he decides to treat me like a slave, and I'm about ready to blow up in his face."

"Hey, let's change the topic. If you could have anything for Christmas, I mean ANYTHING, what would it be?" asked Joey.

"To stop having my aunt and my little cousin come over every year!" said Tristan, adjusting his position. "I mean, my aunt's okay, but my little cousin is the devil, I swear! Last year, guess what I got for Christmas? Whipped cheese in my CD player!" Tristan rolled his eyes, "I can't wait to see what I'll get this year…"

"I'd really like my sister to be with me for Christmas," said Joey, "We haven't had a Christmas together in four years. I kinda miss waking up in the morning and sneaking downstairs with Serenity, to see what Santa left us." Joey shrugged, "I stopped expecting to get anything for Christmas a while ago. Now my Christmases consist of sneaking out to Yugi's house and trying to not wake my dad up from his hang-over."

"He gets drunk on Christmas Eve?" asked Tea surprised. "I'd expect that would be the one night he'd try to stay sober."

"Nope, lives it up every year. Christmas Eve supposedly reminds his of my Mom or something, and he has to get drunk to forget. I usually try to stay away from him as long as I can. But I've being doing fine for the past couple of years," said Joey defensively, not wanting to be pitied, "I only need to survive one more. I can't _wait _until I can leave that house!"

"And you, Tea?" Yugi asked, "What do you want?"

"I asked my parents for money. The sooner I reach my quota, the sooner I can quit my job, thank God," said Tea. "And you, Yugi? What do you want?"

"Well," said Yugi, kind of embarrassed, "There's nothing else I really want then what I already have."

"C'mon, Yug," said Joey, nudging him a little, "It's okay to be greedy. That's what Christmas is all about!"

"Not exactly the right philosophy," said Tea teasingly, "But really, Yugi. There must be something you want!"

"No, really. I have everything I could ask for. I have my Grandpa, who's alive and safe. I have a few days were no one is trying to take over the world ("Knock on wood" murmured Tristan), and I have my friends." _And I have the Pharaoh with me in my heart_. "What more could I ask for?"

They all smiled at his remarks, then the bell rang for free period to end. Teenagers quickly filed out of the class room and into their last class of the day ("Seriously, what kind of evil person planed Algebra for the last class before break?" complained Joey, as Tea pushed him onward.), and Yugi sat down at his desk in English, and took out his notebook to make it seem like he was doing his work. The class had a substitute today, and the man was defiantly going to have his hands full.

_Yugi? May I ask you a question?_

Yugi was startled by hear the voice of the Pharaoh, but quickly retreated into the corner of his mind to speak to him.

_Yeah, of course, Pharaoh. What's up?_

_What's Christmas?_

Yugi was so surprised by this question that he had to check for any signs that the Pharaoh was kidding, but then he remembered that he probably really wouldn't know that Christmas was, being in the modern world for not even a year. Then Yugi struggled to think of a way to explain Christmas to someone who was alive a thousand years before Christ was even born.

_Well,_ started Yugi carefully, _about two thousand years ago, and angel came down to a woman named Mary, and told her that she was going to bear the son of God…_

_A God made love to a mortal? _Asked the Pharaoh, who couldn't help but be a little skeptical.

_It doesn't exactly work like that, _said Yugi, _I'm not sure how He did it, but her child was going to be kind of a connection from God to the mortal world, being His son._

The Pharaoh seeming satisfied with the explanation for the moment, Yugi continued. _Well, she gave birth in a manger in a stable, since no one had room for her and her husband to stay, and a lot of people came to see Christ, since he was the new king…_

_But why celebrate his birth as a big holiday? Surely other Gods had sons? _Even though he didn't have his memory as a Pharaoh in ancient Egypt, his mind was build on Egyptian mythology as his religion, so he was more used to tales of several Gods and Goddesses.

_There's only one God in Christianity, so it was a big deal when his only son was born. Later, he was sent to heaven to redeem humans' sins, so when we die, we could all have a chance of going to heaven…the afterlife, _finished Yugi, hoping that was a good enough explanation.

_I kind of understand,_ said the Pharaoh, _but why were you guys talking about getting gifts? Does this Christ give out gifts to everyone?_

Yugi sighed, and put his hands on his head, starting to get frustrated. How on earth could he explain everything else about Christmas in the sum of a few minutes? All the stories that he and almost everyone else he knew was brought up on every since they were little kids?

_I'm sorry, Yugi, _said tbe Pharaoh, ashamed; _I shouldn't have asked so many questions…_

_No, its okay, _said Yugi quickly, not wanting to see the Pharaoh upset, _let's just say it's a tradition for people on Christmas to exchange gives. It's a time for family and friends to be together, and celebrate. _Yugi was feeling more and more like a Hallmark card every second, but the Pharaoh smiled, seeming enchanted by it.

_It sounds like a nice holiday._

"Look, it's snowing!"

Yugi was thrown back into the real world as kids clambered to the window like small schoolchildren to gaze at the white flakes falling from the sky. Yugi managed to push his way through the crowd to get a good spot near the window, and gazed in awe for a few minutes at the very rare miracle of snow in Domino. He could also see Joey and Tristan sticking their noses on the window pane of their own class room, and dozens of other teenagers followed suit, staring in silence at the snow, seeming like ice crystals falling from the havens. However, soon the silence was broken, as teenagers started to cheer and chat excitedly. The bell rang, sounding the tune of freedom, as kids ran out of the classrooms and outside into the snow.

Yugi managed to find Joey and the others, and they walked together from school, snow already pilled so high that they could hear crunching every time they took a step.

"Let's celebrate!" exclaimed Tristan happily, "Lets go the hill by the school and play in the snow! Well probably never get another chance to while we're still in Japan."

"Good idea," said Tea, "but let's not go to that hill, everyone will be going there. There's a pretty good hill by my house, and I bet no one else will be there."

So the four friends, bundled up in their coats and scarves, met up at Teas' house with sleds at the ready. They did everything they could think of with the snow, things they couldn't do as children but always wanted to: make snowmen, create snow angels, build snow forts, and sled down the hill. While Tristan and Joey were in the middle of a snowball war, Tea and Yugi were in the process of building a snowman. Using whatever they could find in their pockets for a nose, mouth, and eyes, Yugi wrapped his deep-red scarf around the snowman's' neck, and Tea placed her black cap atop its head.

_Are you sure you don't want to come out and play? _Yugi asked the Pharaoh.

_I hate the cold, _replied the Pharaoh, but he was still staring the snow in pure fascination. Yugi didn't know if it was the snow or what, but he was feeling a bit evil today. So he asked the Pharaoh innocently, _do you want to experience the snow first hand?_

_Wha-_

"HEADS UP!!"

A rouge snowball was zooming towards Yugi with exuberant force and hit the Pharaoh in the back in the head. Then, everything seemed to happen at once: the Pharaoh lost his balance, standing at the top of the hill, and somehow knocked Tea over as well; the two of them tumbled down the hill through the miles and miles of snow. When the finally stopped, the Pharaoh was on top of Tea, his face inches from hers. He scrambled to get off, his face burning despite the cold.

_Yugi, switch places with me quick, _said the Pharaoh desperately, looking for an escape.

Yugi replied casually, _it's warmer in the puzzle_, and retreated.

_Yugi, come on-_

But he was gone, and he wasn't coming out. _Yugi, if we didn't share the same body, I would KILL YOU. _Though he was angry, _the_ Pharaoh faced Tea, extremely embarrassed. "Tea-I'm sorry-I didn't mean too-" the Pharaoh stumbled over his words pathetically, as Tea looked at him curiously. Seeing the Pharaoh flabbergasted was a first for her. Then, she reacted how the Pharaoh was expecting her to the least.

She laughed.

And she couldn't stop. She couldn't help but find the situation as hilariously funny. The Pharaoh remained quiet, confused. Tea grabbed his arm, still giggling, and said, "Its fine, Pharaoh!" When he looked right and left, trying to find what was so funny about the situation, she exclaimed, "C'mon, Pharaoh! Smile!"

So he did, in spite of himself. And in a few seconds, he was laughing as hard as Tea was, and they leaned on each other as they made the way back up the hill.

"Geez, Joey, you almost killed them!" said Tristan at the top of the hill.

"Aw, they're fine," Joey said, but still checked on them walking up the hill nervously, "You guys are okay, right?"

"Better then how_ you'll _be when I'm through with you!" shouted Tea playfully, and grabbed a fistful of snow, and through it in his ear.

The four continued the play, until the sun started to set, and they couldn't take the bitter cold anymore. They walked into Tea's house, and Joey started up the fire as Tea called in sick from her job for the day as her excuse for not going after school. Tristan made hot coco, as the Pharaoh sat by the fire, relieved to finally have warmth.

"Hey, do you have the new game for Wii, Tea?" asked Joey, the precious device the reason for the majority of his visits. Tea's parents were the head of a video gaming company, and Tea always got the newest games and models. However, both her parents were rarely around, almost always on business trips.

"Yup," said Tea, holding her cup of hot coco, "Upstairs, first door on the left. In case you forgot," she added sarcastically. Not even waiting to see if the other two wanted to play, Tristan and Joey ran up the stairs, mugs in hand.

Tea sat down next to the Pharaoh and laughed, her hair wet with melted snow. "God, that was fun," she said, "days like this don't come around too often…"

She leaned on the Pharaohs' shoulder, her eyes closed. She was happy, but exhausted, and almost didn't know, or care, what she was doing. The Pharaoh didn't try to shrug her off, however. He put his hand in hers, as icy skin touched icy skin. But at that moment, the only thing they could feel from each other was warmth. They huddled together, knowing that the cold wasn't the reason for the smuggling.

Tea, half asleep and delirious with joy, whispered, "I lied about what I wanted for Christmas, you know."

The Pharaoh didn't say anything, but thought about the conversation that took place earlier that day, and forced the question upon himself. What did he really want? His memory? His own body? His own name? He tried to dig deeper, to find what would make him truly happy. Then Tea said-

"This is want I want. To have this day, everyday of my life. With everyone. With you…" And she drifted off into a light sleep, her head still on his shoulder.

Sparks and cracks jumped out from the fire, but the Pharaoh didn't feel them. All he could feel was the smoothness of her hand and softness of her hair brushing against his face. Maybe he was trying to hard, to focused on the future. He thought about feeling snow for the first time, feeling his body against Teas if ony for a second. Feeling himself smile, the feeling of laugher. Feeling alive, and feeling warm. He had never imagined he could be this happy. It was as if he was feeling for the first time, and he liked what he felt.

_Christmas is a time to be together with friends and family, and celebrate…_

The Pharaoh wrapped his arm around Tea's sleeping body, and kissed her lightly on her forehead. He didn't know if she could hear him anymore, but he leaned his face by her ear, and whispered softly, "That's what I want, too."

I was debating on ending the story with Tea the next year, without Atem, but at this point I decided to end on a happy note and the story was long enough anyway shrug


End file.
